


Hide and Seek

by Fandoms_ruined_me123



Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Barbara Gordon Centric, Barbara Gordon is Batgirl, Blackouts, Blood and Injury, Dick Grayson is Robin, Home Invasion, Other, Stitches, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandoms_ruined_me123/pseuds/Fandoms_ruined_me123
Summary: Babs knew that every decision she had ever made was wrapped up in others. Her choices and her dads impacted her and how she would navigate life. But when the lines between Batgirl and Barbara become blurred for the first time she is in a race to save herself. Either she stays hidden long enough for backup to come or she could lose everything, maybe including her own life.Whumptober 2020 prompt 27: Power Outage
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon & Jim Gordon
Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950364
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

> See I was planning on apologizing for the chaotic upload schedule but then I realized that I...... don't have to apologize for taking time for my mental health *Jazz hands* So I am still planning on going through all 31 days but it's going to be a little bit more chaotic. Anyways I hope you enjoy this!!
> 
> And as always thank you to my amazing beta Elise, the leftover pumpkin sitting on our porch after Halloween

A decision can point a life in a certain direction. That is all life really is made up of. Seconds, hours, years, and decades of decisions, some are drastic changes and others are not, but they cause change nonetheless. A life is not only set on a path by their own choices, but by the choices of those around them. They can impact where someone grew up, how they were raised. How they can impact things down to details such as a name or even a death. Everything is wrapped up in something else. Each decision is interconnected with others in a way that can make it difficult to distinguish which of those choices and outcomes caused a certain situation.

Barbara often found herself wondering that. Her father chose to be a police officer and she chose to work alongside Batman, two separate choices. However, those two choices are all but inseparable. While she might have made one of them herself, she would not have made that choice had her father not his decades before. If he hadn’t been a police officer would she still know Dick? If she didn’t know Dick would she still be Batgirl? If she wasn’t Batgirl then would she have the courage to do something even as mundane as moving between two kids at lunch? It caused the younger kid to hide behind her back while the other stalked away indignantly. No one else had done anything but it had seemed normal, simply a part of her life. She would never know if any of those events were intertwined, nobody could. The best they could do is to guess. When every decision is intertwined with another it can be difficult to differentiate what caused which actions. However, people still guessed, and that’s exactly what she did.

Her dad had told her earlier that day that he would be working late, a common occurrence that she didn’t think much of. She didn’t think much of it until the lights began to flicker. The lights flashed across her room as she stepped out into the hallway. Her eyes glanced up and down the walls of the living room as the lights flickered sporadically before they stopped. The lights vanished as she was plunged into darkness and she became hyper-aware about the fact that she was alone. Her eyes tensed up as she winced slightly. Her arm slammed into an opened door she couldn’t tell was there. Sharp pain fired down her shoulder as he raised a hand tentatively to her aching shoulder. 

Over the past few days, she had become increasingly vigilant about keeping her arm in the best shape she could. She even complied and wore the sling that the doctor had given her. Well, she wore it for the most part, when she was sitting alone in her room simply working on her computer she didn’t think to wear it. She eagerly awaited her upcoming appointment with Dr. Tompkins to get the stitches taken out of her shoulder. It had only been a lucky shot and Babs was determined to show Bruce she could handle it. Bruce seemed like he had half a mind to take her off patrol and never put her back on. She had to show him she was good enough, she had no other choice.

Her head shot towards the wall facing the street as shouts and voices floated up to the window. Silently she crept around the couches that seemed to be dark masses as she made her way to the large windows that looked out into the city. She hesitated for only a moment, taking a deep breath before she peeled back the dark and heavy curtains. Dim light spilled through the apartment as the yellow glare from the street lamps seemed to burn her eyes. The bright lights a drastic change from the pitch-black apartment. She looked around in suspicion as she saw the rest of the illuminated street. It seemed to only be her building that had lost power. As her eyes drifted down from the buildings to the streets below she stumbled back in horror. The curtain slipped away from her fingers before she gently pulled it back once more. She peered slowly out the window to the terrifying sight two floors beneath. 

A small group had gathered outside the apartment building. Five individuals stood in the middle of the empty road, all standing still as they started up at the windows. Their knives and weapons glinted in the light. Their blinding glare shot up to her as she took deep and slow breaths as she attempted to take in everything about the men that she could. Her fingers tapped against her thigh as she attempted to memorize every distinguishable trait of the men. Their height, hair, and every feature of their face visible from around their masks. All of them donned bandanas and other face coverings. 

“We know you’re up there!” The tall man with the blue surgical mask called up to her as he laughed. From the way that everyone gathered around him she could tell he was the leader, or at least the one they listened to. He gestured up to the windows where she hid as he spoke. “Do yourself a favor and come down to us. It’ll save you some trouble. If you come down now and your daddy gives us what we want I promise we won’t hurt you.

“We can be very,” He paused as he rested the large kitchen knife in his hands. He raised it up to his face as he admired it in the yellow light, “Persuasive,”

Babs could faintly hear them as they continued to yell. She made her way slowly through the dark rooms until she ended up back in her own. She quickly dropped to her knees as he fumbled around in the darkness. Her fingernails scraped across her bedframe until her fingers grasped around the small device. She grabbed hold of the small burner phone latched to the bottom of her bed before she pulled it out. Through shaky fingers, she typed out a message to Bruce before sending it. She had full faith that he would see it, after all, it was to the emergency line. She only hoped he would get there in time. Then there was silence. A deep uneasiness sunk into her chest as she made her way over to the window and looked down to the deserted road. They were gone.

Quickly, she ran over to the front door. Her breath picked up and she checked and double-checked the multiple locks on the door Her eyes latched onto the dark shape alongside the wall and she flew into action. She grabbed the edge of the wooden desk with both hands. Pain flared up in her shoulder as she leaned back with all of her might. Finally, she collapsed against the desk. Her labored breath blew strands of hair out of her face as she slowly stepped away. Clutching her throbbing shoulder as she took a moment to gather her nerves. Her heart stopped as she heard feet pounding up the staircase in the hallway. She didn’t wait longe enough to hear the door to her floor slam open, already stepping away from the door. Babs paused for only a moment to grab a knife from the kitchen as she continued. Her finger slightly stinging as blood began to drip out onto the knife. She silently cursed herself for grabbing a knife in the dark but she didn’t wait long. 

Her mind lingered on the idea of taking the spare gun from the safe in her dad’s room before she ultimately decided against it. With her arm in the shape that it was, she knew for a fact that she wouldn’t be able to handle the kickback once let alone multiple times. Jim had gone out of his way to train her in how to shoot, but never enough to become comfortable with one. The idea of shooting a gun in the dark also did not seem appealing. She also considered leaving through the window before she heard the low of an engine as it stopped outside. The thought of escaping through the roof also crossed her mind before she shoved it out. While it might be idealistic it would really only end up with her trapped and in even more pain. Suddenly she heard something slam up against the door and she knew that she had run out of time. 

As the pounding on the door continued she quietly ran into the bathroom. She threw open the cabinet underneath the sink as a plan began to form. Through shaky fingers, she quickly moved as much of the cleaning supplied they had kept there into the medicine cabinet above the sink. Frantically she began to shove the rest into a corner. The sound of a bottle clattering to the ground caused her to wince but she couldn’t stop for even a second before she crawled inside. Just as she closed the door behind she heard the desk crash over.

Her breathing quietly bounced off the wooden walls on all sides of her. Her shoulder stung as she could feel blood trickling down her arm. Silently she groped around for a hand towel before placing it into her mouth as she could feel the pain stemming from the ripped and frayed stitches. Black dots filled her vision and dark work around her turned while from pain, the men’s loud footsteps that shook the ground were the only thing that kept her from screaming in absolute agony. Her heartbeat became frantic pounding as the men made their way through the apartment. 

“Come out come out wherever you are!” Surgical mask called out as he made his way towards the bathroom. Tears fell down her cheeks as she bit down hard on the towel. 

“See, your daddy tried to put us away. He said that there was a witness to something we did. He said he couldn’t get her to testify because it was Batgirl, but you know what? I don’t buy into that,” His voice bounded off the walls as they crossed by the bathroom and into her bedroom. With every footstep and loud crash, her heart nearly seemed to stop. Loud shuffling came from nearly every room as she could hear them tearing her home apart all while she had to hide.

“If Batgirl was there to see it then why wasn't I arrested right then?” He asked, his footsteps pounded out of her room before they paused, “That’s because she wasn’t there, and it was you after all,” 

He wasn’t entirely wrong, she was the one who told her dad but it was through Batman retelling her words. There had been an emergency and while she took one of her few pauses form action, that night she had spotted someone in an alleyway selling the material from STAR labs. Material from the same trick that had gone missing a week before along with all of its contents. She barely has enough time to take a picture before she had to move again. Compared to the eventful evening with its even more eventual ending which had her ending up being carried back to the cave after being shot it had seemed insignificant. The morning after it had even slipped her mind until she saw the pictures. It wasn’t insignificant anymore. 

“You’ve got a nice daddy, so nice of him to lie for you. I don’t want to hurt you, I just want my things back! The things you took from me. I do hope he gives them back. But he did give me some trouble and it would be so satisfying if he doesn’t pay. What a shame you wouldn’t be there to see it,” She froze as his voice cut off. His footsteps drew closer and closer until he stopped.

“My my, what’s this?”

Suddenly the cabinet was thrown open. She screamed through the towel as a light was shone into her eyes. He moved forward, taking the knife from her hands as he threw it into the bathtub with a crack. He grabbed hold of her feet and began to drag her out. Her throat burned as she grabbed onto the side of the cabinet. He pulled one last time on her legs before the wooden edge slipped out from underneath her fingers. She was sent flying across the small room. Her head collided on the tile floor with a sickening crunch as she sprawled out. 

“Found you!” The man had his surgical mask pulled down around his chin as he smiled down at her. The glare from the flashlight shown directly into her eyes from over his shoulder. The light shone down from over his shoulder as he towered over her. With all the strength she could muster she began to lash out. Her feet collided with his legs as the man stepped back, staring down at her disappointedly. 

“Don’t make this harder on yourself.” He warned as he held his knife aimlessly. Her head ached and her shoulder felt as if she was being shot all over again. She could only just hear him over the ringing in her ear. For a second she asked herself if it fi would just be easier to give in. But then he moved, and out of instinct, so did she. 

As he reached down to restrain her she surged up to meet him. Without thinking she kicked out, her feet making contact with his wrist and he could faintly hear the knife clatter to the ground. Before he could even move she sat up sharply. Babs tucked her chin to her neck as her head collided with his face. She heard him stumble back before she raised her eyes. Her red hair became redder with his blood.

“What happened?” Someone called out as he stumbled backward, clutching his nose. He tripped over his feet as he backed out of the room.

“The bitch broke my nose!” He cried out in dismayed. His dark eyes latching onto hers as she smiled smugly, leaning back on an arm as she whipped the blood away with the back of her hand. “You’re going to pay.” She struggled backward as he began to stalk towards her menacingly. She could feel her energy draining by the second but still, she glared up at him. Her head held high as he moved forward, nose slightly crooked as blood gushed down his face. Then the shouting began.

Loud shouts echoed off the walls from outside the bathroom. He turned quickly, his back to her as he watched the scene unveil. Babs struck out, kicking his knees out from underneath him as he collapsed on the ground. He looked up at her in confusion before she thrust her foot out once more. The sickening crush met her ears as her foot landed on his throat and he collapsed to the ground. She moved backward, her back pushed far against the back wall as she held her aching head in her good arm. Then, just as soon as it started, the fighting stopped.

“Babs!” Her head shot up quickly as a smile spread across her face. Dick ran through the bathroom door, stepping over the man gasping on the ground as he crouched down beside her. “What happened? Are you ok?” Exhaustion finally overtook her as she leaned into him as she shook.

“Oh god Babs, B we need to get her out of here, she’s injured,” Slowly he helped her to her feet as he brought her uninjured arm up around his shoulder, and started to lead her out of the apartment. She only saw a glimpse of the destroyed apartment before she turned her head away. The events of the night caught up to her as tears continued to fall down her face.

“This was my fault,” Dick paused as he looked over at her. He eyed her head wound for a second before she continued. “Not in a self-deprecative way but as a fact. My dad’s decisions set me up for the ones I made. This happened because of those,”

“Do you regret those decisions?” He asked hesitantly as they paused for a second to allow Bruce to cross the room before he bent down slightly, lifting her up in his arms gently. Babs raised her head slightly as she looked around the apartment. Every door had been thrown open as every cabinet was emptied as the contents were thrown around in disarray. She thought of the blood trickling down from her shoulder and the immense pain that wracked through her body. But she also saw the men who lay unconscious on the floor. The men who were caught and who would be tried because of her actions, her decisions. And she thought of the effect that getting the material back to STAR labs would bring for the city.

“No,” Say said smiling, “No I don’t,”


End file.
